A modest proposal

LawrenceDavis — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:08:59 -0000

It's a simple request, actually:

STOP TALKING ABOUT THE MEDIA.

The idea that the MSM (God... I hate that phrase so much) is biased against the Broncos seems a bit ludicrous. For 30 years, the Broncos have been among the most lauded, well-liked organizations in football. Ask any reporter who worked in Denver during the 80s and 90s about John Elway stories they chose not to pursue, purely for the sake of not getting strung up by his loyal fans. Jim Saccommano is one of the best PR guys in the business and the team has been very accommodating of many smaller newspapers wishing to get credentialed.

During the Shanahan years, the team was routinely regarded as one of the best, most well-run organizations in football. Year-after-year, they were included on multiple nationally-televised games regardless of the year's previous record. There are many teams who go many years without a nationally-televised game. Hell, the Texans had just their first-ever MNF game last year.

Yes, the MSM by-and-large predicted doom and gloom for the Broncos. Let's examine why:

- Vastly new roster
- Vastly new coaching staff
- Vastly new front office
- New QB
- Disgruntled WR
- New offense
- Very little information was dispensed due to McDaniels' new philosophy (not necessarily a negative thing, but if you as a reporter aren't granted as much access as you are to other organizations, it's far more diffic

ult to know what's going on)
- Mangini, Romeo and Weis have all, to some degree, failed. Nick Saban also had his struggles in Miami.

Now, let's examine the possible outcomes:

1. The team could struggle, much like most teams in similar circumstances (new coach, new QB, sweeping changes in the front office and among coaches) do.
2. The team could thrive because Josh McDaniels is much, much better at his job than most people.

Those were, realistically, the two options. Which of those options was more likely, would you say? The one that is far, far more common? Or the one that is far, far more rare?

Now, I'm very happy to say that it appears the second option came to fruition. Very, very happy.

But to get so worked up this late in the season about the "MSM" having a 'grudge' against the Broncos... That seems silly. I know most of you were believers in McDaniels and I applaud your blind loyalty to the organization.

They played the odds. Most teams in our situation fail. Most coaches fail. Most executives fail. We appear not to be failing.

But to suggest that the reason the "MSM" predicted doom-and-gloom for our beloved Bronco as if that they have some sort of personal bias against the team... Well, you'll have to forgive me if I think that train of thought is a wee bit foolish.

So, do me this one small, tiny, itty bitty favor: focus on the team. It appears to be a good team. It's certainly an enjoyable one. This could be a very, very fun season. Let's not get caught up in the petty stuff (sorry for those that saw the initial word... Fixed now) that goes along with people blindly attacking media members about how bad they are at their job.

Please, try to avoid getting upset. I'm not singling anyone out and I'm not trying to upset anyone. I would just like this site to return to what it used to be: a place for lively discourse about the Broncos. It's recently turned into something more petty, something more akin to a high school 'slambook'

This team has experienced a great deal of success over the years. It has been on national TV, the cover of magazines, the focus of national discourse. We've been there before. Quit acting like you haven't.

From Keith Law:

LawrenceDavis — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:00:47 -0000

By now you've probably heard that Colorado reliever Casey Weathers exited Thursday night's game, holding his elbow and in obvious pain. There was no update on his condition as of about noon Arizona time Friday, but at the very least, he is not expected to return to action in the AFL.

This is from Law's blog (Keith Law's law blog? AD fans anyone). Obviously this is unfortunate news. I'm just adding words to make it long enough to qualify as a fan post.

SB Nation User Blog: LawrenceDavis

A modest proposal

From Keith Law: